If no one provides him with a ride, Jose Zuniga, 83-years old and wheelchair-bound, would have to take two or three buses and travel 20 miles to reach the nearest south Texas government office that could issue the new photo ID he will need to vote in upcoming elections. Zuniga is one of a particular sub-set of an estimated 500,000 eligible voters in 10 states who could be negatively affected by stricter photo ID laws. More...

Dr. Jonathan Oberlander will speakSeptember 15, 3 – 5 p.m. at the Chatham Community Library in Pittsboro. Free and Open to the Public. Question and Answer to follow.

What is “Obamacare” and how does it affect you? What are the consequences if it is repealed? We invite you to come and hear Dr. Jonathan Oberlander, an expert in health care policy, who will explain the law in its entirety and answer your questions and concerns.

Jonathan Oberlander is Professor of Social Medicine and Health Policy and Management at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He is also a political scientist and leading authority on health care politics and policy.

Dr. Oberlander has special expertise in the politics of health care reform and has researched the Obama administration’s plan for health care reform and cost control. He also has studied health policy and its implications for medicine, including Medicare, Medicaid, and various effortsby states to expand health care coverage.

Articles and opinion pieces by Professor Oberlander have appeared in The New York Review of Books, New England Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, Health Affairs, Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. Dr. Oberlander has commented on health reform for a number of media outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, the BBC, CBS News and PBS.

Health Care Legislation in Republican state houses since 2010:
* Require women to undergo trans-vaginal exams before an abortion
* Made deep cuts to family planning services; eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood
* Require doctors to tell women that abortion is linked to breast cancer (false)
US Congress Republicans proposed legislation to:
* Defund “Obamacare”
* Allow an employer to decide if contraceptives would be covered by health insurance. This event is sponsored by the Chatham County Democratic Women, PO Box 1791, Pittsboro, North Carolina.

Hoppin' John Old-Time & Bluegrass Fiddlers' Convention

The Shakori Hills Community Arts Center presents the Hoppin' John Old-Time & Bluegrass Fiddlers' Convention, now in its 6th year Sept 13-15. Hoppin' John is a three-day event for musicians, dancers, and music lovers to come together and celebrate the traditions of old-time and bluegrass music. There will be dance, instrument, and band contests for all ages. Hoppin' John also features square dances, workshops, musician showcases, a hoppin' john cook-off, and a special opportunity to see, hear, and learn the secrets and treasures of this Piedmont take on the fiddlers' convention concept.

The event will kick off on Thursday night this year with a Rowdy Square Dance led by the Five Points Rounders featuring David Bass on fiddle, Colin Booy on banjo, Rob VanVeld on gutbucket bass, and Steve Kruger on guitar. The Rounders, a young, high-energy old-time band came together in Durham to bring their type of music to the next generation by creating the Rowdy Square Dance concept - dusting off the old square dance tunes and moves and repackaging them to suit a younger, more hip crowd, without losing any shine for forever fans and connoisseurs. Anna Lena Phillips calls out the next dance step while dancing on stage, and keeps all of the dancers together and comfortable, whether it's their first or their 100th square dance.

The convention's individual contests will begin on Friday afternoon and run throughout Saturday. There will be a square dance featuring The Roan Mountain Hilltoppers as well as a late night dance on Saturday night with the Red Hots. The Roan Mountain Hilltoppers are a Southern Appalachian traditional mountain music family stringband. The Red Hots play an addictive version of Southern old-time stringband music from the 1920s and 30s, as well as their own original tunes.

Hoppin' John is excited to welcome Alice Gerrard back for a showcase and folk singing workshop. Gerrard is a musician as well as an expert in old-time and mountain music. She has appeared on more than 20 recordings, including projects with many traditional musicians such as Tommy Jarrell and Enoch Rutherford.

The Green Grass Cloggers, the premier clogging group of North Carolina, will be around for performances and workshops. New to the convention this year will be a fiddle workshop with Asheville's old-time expert Michael Ismerio and a "hootenanny hayride," Saturday afternoon with early childhood educator and local musician, Tim Wells. The Hoppin' John Cakewalk will be back, by popular demand. As always, there will be a Hoppin' John Cook-off. Contests include: band (old-time, bluegrass, and non-traditional), old-time and bluegrass instrument (fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo, and bass), folk song, and dance. There will also be a contest for youth musicianship. Cash prizes will be rewarded for a total of $3800.

There will be great craft and musical instrument vendors as well as food vendors, including the Shakori Hills Pizza Shack and the Groovy Grill. Folks can bring the family and stay for the weekend! More info and schedule are available at www.hoppinjohn.org.

ChathamArts' Sustainable Cinema Series Launches 2012/13 Season

Award-winning cinema returns to Chatham County Wednesday, September 26, with Rodrigo Dorfman’s ‘One Night in Kernersville’, a documentary about the local jazz scene. The 20-minute film centers on the preparations for a recording session in Kernersville for the John Brown Jazz Orchestra's CD "Setting Standards," released last year. The film was awarded a Jury Award for Best Short in 2011 at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival.

Brown is a fixture on the local jazz scene as Director of Jazz Studies at Duke, and has made an indelible contribution to the growing local music scene through his knowledge and passion. Producer/Director Dorfman will be in attendance at the event, held in the Barn at Fearrington at 7 p.m. The film will be shown alongside an exclusive work-in-progress preview of "Tommy! The Dreams I Keep Inside of Me,” the inspiring story of a sixty year-old autistic man with the life long dream of singing with a Big Band.

Dorfman is a writer, photographer, commentator and multimedia filmmaker. Born in Santiago, Chile, he currently lives in Durham, NC. He has been documenting the emerging Latino community in North Carolina through a series of educational films, ("Angelica's Dreams" and "Roberto's Dreams") and "VIVA LA COOPERATIVA" - a feature documentary on the history of the first Latino Credit Union in the US. Admission is $5 at the door.

The Sustainable Cinema Series is presented by the Chatham County Arts Council and features world-class documentaries, narrative and independent films involving producers, directors, subjects and/or locations in North Carolina. More information is available at www.chathamarts.org.

Fifteenth Annual Carrboro Music Festival

Sunday, September 30, 2012. Free music event beginning at 1p.m. All types of music! The event features 25 venues throughout downtown Carrboro with over 180 musical acts. The Town Commons will showcase specialty food and craft vendors as well as a children’s participatory games. Shuttle bus from Carrboro Plaza Park & Ride from noon -8 p.m. Schedule and other information at the festival website: www.carrboromusicfestival.com.

New website touts Siler City

Siler City’s North Carolina Small Town Economic Prosperity (NC STEP) Leadership Team launched www.ExploreSilerCity.com this month. The website, developed by the NC STEP Marketing Committee, is a community resource for current and future residents and anyone interested in learning about the small town that anchors western Chatham County.

The website, as an online gateway to Siler City, provides a convenient way to get information about many aspects of the town and surrounding community, providing direct links to retail, events, arts, and more.

“We included a variety of community resources from physicians, dentists, wellness providers to restaurants, retailers, schools, arts, murals, parks and trails,” said Diana Hales, chair of the NC STEP Marketing Committee.

The ExploreSilerCity website promotes community diversity and the delightfully unexpected charms of this town. The team is also working to add content featuring Siler City businesses.

“The NC STEP Leadership Team identified the need to showcase Siler City’s resources that make this a well-rounded community for residents, an attractive retirement destination, and a great place for business,” said Hales. “That’s what we’re trying to accomplish with this website.”

The website is also a vehicle for other NC STEP projects. The NC STEP Arts Committee, chaired by NC Arts Incubator Director Ann Bass, is developing a locally-made products guide to be housed on the website. The guide will exhibit myriad products crafted in the Siler City area.

Siler City has been a NC STEP town since August 2010. The program, created by the North Carolina Center for Rural Development, empowers citizens to create and participate in small town revitalization projects they define and develop. For more information about the NC STEP Leadership Team, contact Jack Meadows at jmeadows@silercity.org or 919.742.2323.